Online
kalooki
Rummy rules

 

 


KALOOKI (KALUKI) RULES
 

The Game
Each player is dealt 13 cards.

The Deck

This game is played with 2 standard 52 card decks plus 2 Jokers.

 
   
  The four suits  
   
  The cards and their values  

2 points

3 points

4 points

5 points

6 points

7 points

8 points

9 points

10 points

10 points

10 points

10 points

11 points

25 points
 



(*) Joker may be used in any set or run to substitute for any missing card or cards. When used in a meld to substitute for another card, the Joker takes on the point value of the card it represents. It counts 25 penalty points when in the hand of a player at the end of play.

The remaining cards are placed face down on the table, forming the stock pile (face down) and one card is placed next to the stock to form the discard pile (face up).

A standard turn consists of three parts:
1. Drawing one card, either from the top of the stock pile or from the top of the discard pile.
2. Forming new sets and runs and/or adding cards to existing melds if possible.
3. Discarding one card from on top of the discard pile.

Drawing at the beginning of your turn and discarding in the end are compulsory. Melding is optional, and cards that could have been melded can be kept in your hand for a future opportunity.

If the stock runs out, the discard pile is shuffled and placed face down to form a new stock. The card discarded by the player who drew the last card of the old stock is placed face up beside the new stock to start the new discard pile.

Building Rules & Instructions
After laying down the initial meld, a player may add cards from his hand to any melds on the table - his own or other player's - forming a large valid meld. This is called building.

Players may add the corresponding card of the fourth suit to a three-card set (if it contains a rummy Joker, no repeated suits are allowed), or add further consecutive cards to either end of a run.
In builds, as in original melds, a Joker can be used as a substitute for any card.

Reuse of Jokers
If a set of three cards contains a Joker, the Joker can be released in exchange for equal ranking cards of both missing suits from the player's hand. For example, if has been melded, a player who has a and a can add both of these cards to the set, taking the Joker in exchange and using it elsewhere. By building just one of these 10's onto the set, player forms a closed four-card set of 10-10-10-Joker, from which the Joker can never be taken. A player can add any two of the missing suits to a three-card set with two Jokers, releasing one of the Jokers and forming a closed four-card set.

A player can add any two of the missing suits to a three-card set with two Jokers, releasing one of the Jokers and forming a closed four-card set.

If a run contains a Joker, a player who holds the card the Joker represents can use it to replace the Joker, and reuse it elsewhere.

Except in the cases where a Joker can be reused as described above, melds and runs once placed on the table can never be rearranged - they can only be added to.

Going Out
The play ends when a player wins by drawing from the stock or discards pile, melding all but one of their cards, and discarding their last card. This is known as "Going Out".
 

Going Kalooki
When a player lays down all their cards in one move without using any builders, this move is known as "Going Kalooki" the remaining players at the table will have an extra 25 penalty points added to their total card count.


Note that even when going out you must end your turn with a discard - it is not permitted to draw, meld all of your cards and discard nothing.

Note that there is no "laying off", as in some other rummy games. When a player calls up, the play ends immediately and the other players have no opportunity to dispose of any cards they are holding, even if they could have been melded or built onto other melds.

Scoring
 

   
  Defeated (Penalty Points)  
Going Out
Sum of the remaining cards value in the player's hand.
(Ace = 11, Joker = 25)
Kalooki
Sum of the remaining cards value in the player's hand + 25 Penalty Points.
(Ace = 11, Joker = 25)


 

Payout table for ring games:

 
The winner always gets at least 75% of the prize pool, the other 25% will be distributed to the rest of the players. These players' percentage is calculated by the proportion of their point to the winners' points, as long as they have less than 100 penalty points remaining in their hand.

 

Example:

 

Prize Pool Distribution Example

Bob, Shelly, John and Barbara are playing Gin online on a ring table with a $10 stake.

When the round is finished, Bob is the winner and the following is a table showing the remaining cards for of the losers:

Place Player Cards Hand value Points
1 Bob AS 1 0
2 Shelly 2H,3H,AD 6 -5
3 John 5C,5H,10C,AH 21 -20
4 Barbara KC,KD,8H,8S,QD,JD,2S 58 -57
The hand value is calculated as a sum of the cards value where:

Ace = 1
J,Q,K = 10
Numbers = face value
 

The points, since they are playing a Gin round that ended in a knock, are calculated as:
Points = -Hand value + knocker hand value

After the points are calculated, the prize pool is distributed according to the penalty points each player has.
For this table, the prize pool is $40 (4 players * $10 stake)

Prize pool distribution calculation steps:

Step 1 – determine the prize to distribute

According to the number of rummy players, a different distribution percentage is used:

Number of players Non Distribution percentage Distribution percentage
2 50% 50%
3 62.5% 37.5%
4 66.66% 33.34%

The percentage values guarantee that the winner will always win at least 75% of the pool prize.

In this example, since there are 4 players, the distribution percentage is 33.34%, hence:
Distribution Prize = $40 * 33.34% =~ $13.34
Non-distribution Prize = $40 - $13.34 = $26.66

Step 2 – calculate distribution points

For each player, the distribution points are calculated:
Distribution points = Max(Points – In money Limit,0)

The in money limit is determined by the game type:

Game In money limit
Gin -50
Oklahoma -50
Traditional Rummy -80
Kalooki -100

In this example, since the game is Gin, the distribution points can be calculated for the players:

Place Player Points Distribution points
1 Bob 0 50
2 Shelly -5 45
3 John -20 30
4 Barbara -57 0*

* Since -57-(-50)=-7, Barbara gets 0 distribution points.

Step 3 – Calculating a Money-Points ratio

A money-point ratio is used to transform the points into money.
It is calculated as:
Money-Points ratio = Distribute prize / total distribution points

In this example:
Money-Points ratio = $13.34 / (50+45+30) = $13.34 / 125 = $0.106688

Step 4 – Calculating the prizes

The prizes are calculated by multiplying the money-points ratio by the distribution points for each player. The winner also gets the non-distribution prize.

Place Player Distribution point Prize Prize percentage
1 Bob 50 $32.00 80%
2 Shelly 45 $4.80 12%
3 John 30 $3.20 8%
4 Barbara 0 0% 0%

 


KALOOKI (KALUKI) STRATEGY TIPS

The following set of tips were composed to provide you with guidelines to help you acquire a general perception of the game's rummy strategy. We advise you bear these tips in mind and apply them according to your discretion, considering the specific situation you are confronted with. Please note the tips are ordered in an arbitrary manner.

Deck - In Kalooki the deck consists of 2 full packs of cards, plus 2 jokers for a total of 106 cards, in Kalooki you have the chance to receive all the cards twice, even the jokers!

Drawing - Drawing the right cards when playing online Kalooki rummy (Kaluki) is the number one skill to affect the outcome of the game the most. When drawing a card at the beginning of the game, it is advisable that you pick a card from the stock pile rather then the discard pile. This way, your online Kalooki (Kaluki) opponents will find it difficult to keep track of the cards in your hand. Keeping your hand a secret as long possible will be worth your while down the road. In addition, since the cards on top of the discard pile are cards that your online Kalooki (Kaluki) opponents do not need, when drawing a card from the stock pile, you might be preventing them from forming melds.

Discard – Discard the right cards is not a matter to be taken lightly also. When throwing away cards your first priority is to get rid of cards that are of no use to you. Secondly, you want to throw away cards that are of no use to your online Kalooki (Kaluki) opponent. To do so, simply note which cards your opponents discard.

Pay Attention To - One of the keynotes in online Kalooki (Kaluki) is constant vigilance. Be alert to the cards your online Kalooki (Kaluki) opponents discard and pick. This gives you the benefit of knowing which cards their hands consist of.

High\ Low Draws – The Kalooki (Kaluki) rules require your melds' total count reaches 51 or more before going down for the first time. Therefore, you might want to form melds of high-valued cards so you can reach 51.

Building – You may want to pick up cards from the discard pile that may be added to the melds on the table, and get rid of them by building onto the melds on the table. Be careful not to throw builders to your opponents.

Melding – Try to draw and discard cards in a manner that will provide you with a lot of opportunities to complete pairs into melds. For example: the un-melded cards in your hand are 7 of Spades, 7 of Clubs, 8 of Clubs, 4 of Hearts. Discarding the 4 of Hearts will leave you with more opportunities to meld the rest of cards.

When melding a Joker, you want to use it in a run rather than a set. Since it will be more difficult for your opponents to come up with the relevant card and replace it.

Going Kalooki (Kaluki) – The main advantage of “Going Kalooki” is surprise! Not to mention the fact that your opponents will be penalized with an extra 25 points. You need to pay close attention to your opponents' moves, the cards they are drawing and discarding. Make your decision to go for a Kalooki (Kaluki) based on the information you can get during the first couple of turns.

Going down – If all players have already laid down melds at the "Meld Area", waiting for a Kalooki is too risky – go down as soon as you can.